CoventryLive brings you the latest Coventry City news, including the appointment of an old boy to a new managerial job after missing out on the CBS Arena move.
Robbie Keane, a former Republic of Ireland captain and Coventry City player, is now the head coach of Ferencvaros, Hungary’s champions.
The 44-year-old, who left his role as Maccabi Tel Aviv manager in June after leading the Israeli club to the league title, replaces Pascal Jansen, who moved to New York City FC.
According to a statement on the club’s official website, “We announce the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen to lead our 35-time champion and 24-time cup winner team, the 146-time Republic of Ireland national team player Robbie Keane, who signed on Monday.”
“The new head coach arrived in Budapest on Sunday evening and will leave on Tuesday to join our team at the training camp in Spain.”
During his 19-year playing career, Keane scored a record 68 senior international goals for Wolves, the Sky Blues, Inter Milan, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham, LA Galaxy and Aston Villa.
He was a strong contender to succeed Mark Robins at Coventry City’s CBS Arena, but Frank Lampard ultimately took the job.
Keane began coaching in 2018 as a player-manager for ATK in India, and he then worked as an assistant to Ireland manager Mick McCarthy during his second spell in charge. He then took on a similar role at Middlesbrough, reporting to former Spurs teammate Jonathan Woodgate.
Keane was part of Sam Allardyce’s team at Leeds during their unsuccessful attempt to avoid Premier League relegation in 2022/23. He was then offered the opportunity to manage independently by Maccabi.
In his debut season as manager, he guided Tel Aviv to a league and cup double, as well as a spot in the round of 16 of the European Conference League. However, his tenure drew criticism at home in Ireland because he chose to stay in office following Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Keane, who would be accompanied in Budapest by assistant coach Rory Delap and analyst Phill Hudson, later stated that he stayed on for the sake of his players and staff, and that he turned down a substantial offer to continue his work.
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